Nachtfalter Update (and waxing poetic about Top of the Lake)

Oh, this pattern. 

This is Nachtfalter, one of the Holla Knits Summer KAL sweaters, and I'm totally in love. It starts off easy - just a nice, cabled ribbing. 

But then it blossomed into this gorgeous, addictive lace, and I couldn't put it down. 

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was knitting while glued to Top of the Lake (streamed on Netflix). This little BBC mini series caught my attention and ran with it. It's gorgeous, suspenseful, thrilling and very dark. Elizabeth Moss stars as Robin, a detective in New Zealand specializing in children and sexual abuse cases, and she is superb. I'm a huge Mad Men fan, so it took me a minute to adjust to seeing Moss in another role, but once she hooked me, I couldn't stop watching! Also Holly Hunter has a small, but amazing part. All-around, a very talented cast. 

Ok, I'm done gushing. What have you been watching?

P.S. I love that when I do a knit along, I have pictures of projects at every stage. Usually, I'm way too busy knitting to stop and take a picture. 

Holla Knits KAL - Nachtfalter

Just looking at that lacy swatch makes me happy. 

This summer I'm leading a knit-along for Holla Knits, for my favorite sweater from the Spring/Summer 2013 issue: Nachtfalter.

I'm using CotLin in Gosling and Wallaby, and we start next Monday. Care to join us?

Finished: Holla Back Tank

The Holla Knits KAL is just about wrapped up, and I have this gorgeous Holla Back Tank to show for it: 

I love the finished project - it will definitely be worn during this Indian Summer we're having in Southern California. I used Knit Picks Stroll Sock in Everglade Heather, which makes a surprisingly wearable sweater. You wouldn't think a yarn described as "sock" would be so lovely on the body. 

The design itself is great - I made no changes except to knit a size smaller than normal to account for my gauge being off. As some knitters have noticed, that neckline is low. If you're modest about the cleavage, I'd shorten the straps a bit. And the bottom band will not take an hour, like you suppose. It will take 3, so plan accordingly. 

But overall, it's a success. And I've got 9 other ladies sharing their FO's along with me, so lookie here.

Holla Knits KAL Progress

The Holla Knits KAL is still chugging along! I finished this week's assignment while driving to Ojai and Santa Barbara for a little birthday getaway (pictures forthcoming). 

It's been relaxing to knit this over 8 weeks, instead of my usual rush-through-it method, where I just knit a garment as fast as humanly possible. I'm definitely not a process knitter, but it's been nice to just knit a bit, and then put it down. Yup, usually I can't put it down. I miiiight have a touch of the OCD. 

Holla Knits KAL Week 3: Finished Front

I've finished the front of the sweater, whoohoo! 

This week's goal was easy peasy, and I actually finished almost a week ago, but I've been fighting some serious internet burn-out. You know how it is, you don't want to post, you don't want to tweet, and Facebook is terrible. What do you guys do to get that ole spark back again?

HK KAL Week 2 - Progress!

Week 2 of the Holla Knits KAL went much quicker! I'm just st-st-ing away over here, and actually knit a large portion of this while viewing Chris' current play, "All My Sons." Did you know st st makes for great knitting in the dark?

Since my gauge was a little off, I was a worried about the size I chose to knitting. But I measured across the bust, and I think it's going to be a great fit. A win for math! 

HKKAL Week 1 Progress

We cast on Monday for the first Holla Knits' Knit Along! 

The first week was a bit intense - 9" of st st - but I powered through. I didn't realize exactly how much I'd knit until I really flattened it out. Last night I was slightly panicked at the size of my sweater, but that st st likes to curl in on itself and look like a tiny bit of knitting, when it's really closer to 8.75"! Whew. 

Want to join in? There's still time! Keep up with us on the Holla Knits blog, and in the Ravelry group, or email me at katie@hollaknits.com for more info.